"Junior" classmate without parent/family member

[mikkilj]

Ok, I'm prepared to get flamed for this one! But just hear me out first .

My husband and I started our OW certification class last Saturday. Our class size is pretty small - 6 students total. We are 26/27, there is another couple that are probably in their upper 20's, a 16 year old boy, and a 10 year old girl (no relation). The father of the 16 year old and the mother of the 10 year old were there for the safety video and paperwork and then disappeared.

Somehow, for one of the exercises, my hubby got paired with the 16 year old and I got paired with the 10 year old. I am horrible with children to begin with, not to mention that I want to put more concentration into learning scuba than babysitting (yes, the child did require more direct help/supervision than the adult buddies).

Would I be out of line to ask the instructor to either not be paired with the child or to just buddy up with my husband? I don't mind working with other adults or mature adolescents, but this 10 year old is a handful!

Anyway, thanks for listening!

-=* Mikki *=-

 

[SueMermaid]

I don't see why you would get flamed for this. If I felt the way you do, I'd not hesistate to discuss it with my instructor.

 

[The Kraken]

Was the 10 year old equipped with a standard Al 80 or was she outfitted with a smaller tank?

 

[Garyra]

I don't think that there is anything wrong with asking not to be paired up with someone, as long as it is done descretly. You are the one that is paying for the class, and you are still trying to learn yourself. For some people, helping a buddy learn something re-enforces what they have learned (the best way to learn something is to teach it), for others this hinders thier learning process. When it comes down to it, you are the customer here and have the right to request what you want.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I love kids but...

I leave them behind on an grown ups night out and I don't dive with 10 year olds. Shoot, I won't dive with some one who would try to get me to dive with a 10 year old so that would let your instructor out too.

 

[mikkilj]

LOL... The girl and I were given Al 50's . I'm 5'2" and 105 lbs, so I guess they didn't want to give me a big tank either!

I don't mind helping buddies, but at this point, I want a buddy who is equally able to help me. I do not feel that I can depend on the 10 year old for this. Then again, I am sure there are some adults out there that act like 10 year olds, so I shouldn't be so quick to base things just on age. The girl did have problems with attention span and following the instructor's lead (such as staying underwater and trying to catch floating debris for several minutes after all of us were given the "thumbs up" to surface). I am sure there are 10 year olds who are more mature than others as well.

-=* Mikki *=-

 

[The Kraken]

My reason for the question was the factor of just moving the equipment about.
I have serious reservations regarding the physical and psychological preparedness of a 10 year old to enter into a full-flegged diving program.

 

[MechDiver]

Was the 10 year old equipped with a standard Al 80 or was she outfitted with a smaller tank?

What has that got to do with the thread? Geez.

Anyway, some instructors don't like to buddy spouses. But, as has been pointed out, I would not want to be buddied with someone that young. The fact they shouldn't be there is another issue.

IMO the child should have been buddied with a DM, not another student.

MD

 

[The Kraken]

I suppose you could interpret my previous post as being of the opinion that the 10 year old should not have been in the class.

 

[DandyDon]

Was the 10 year old equipped with a standard Al 80 or was she outfitted with a smaller tank?

Don't see how that has anything to do with the lady's question...?

You and your husband have every right to request trainging with each other. I have no idea as to what the instructor may have told the minors and their parents, but they are not your respnsibility, plus you want your focus to be on learning to be a Scuba diver and Buddy - not caretaker for a child.

I have a couple of hundred dives, and I'm starting to learn how, but now way would I allow myself to be paired with a 10 year old for anything - not as a boat-pick budy, not as a student partner, not as a rommate, not as a dining partner, nothing.

Perahps my view is harsh, but if I pay for an adutl course, I want what I paid for. The minors need to be working with Dive Masters and Instructors only, except maybe for their parents.

Want an easy way out, though? Tell the Instructor that your lawyer told you two to budy with each other only - and certainly not with minors.